I hope they stop referring to her as the “host” of Jeopardy! while referring to him as the “guest host”.
And in my opinion, they bungled this entire process, from the parade of guest hosts, to the selection of the executive producer as host, to naming the interim hosts as permanent hosts.
Do they refer to him as the “guest host?” On the show they just say “hosting Jeopardy.”
Mike Richards was actually pretty good, and I had no particular desire to see him canceled based on whatever it was that someone unearthed, but it was sketchy the way he manipulated the process because he wanted to be in front of the camera all along.
We could do worse than Ken, but Mayim sucks. I guess they feel that in The Current Year, they can’t have a heterosexual white man as the sole host.
Edit: The most egregious part of the whole thing is that the announcement uses the corporate newspeak phrase “moving forward” which seems to have all but completely replaced “from now on” in the English language.
But I hate Ken’s smug “I’m only ‘hosting’ Jeopardy, I’m not ‘the host’.” I think it’s some kneel down before the alter of St Alex of Trebek thing. The king is dead, long live the new HOST, and you (and Mayim) are it.
Yeah, that was one of my reservations about the Nicks guess.
I don’t think No Doubt is a Hall of Fame-worthy act. Diana Ross is not a rock singer. I don’t think of Tina Turner as a rock singer either, but apparently some of her earlier stuff is considered rock n’ roll. (Not that not being a rock artist has ever stopped anyone before; Madonna is in there for some strange reason, and this year Eminem is being inducted.)
It’s unimportant and basically moot, but Ken Jennings was introduced with, “And now hosting Jeopardy!, Ken Jennings” while Mayim Bialik was introduced with, “And now here is the host of Jeopardy!, Mayim Bialik.” (Cite.)
That’s because no one hates her for being a nerd. You can scroll and see all of the complaints, and not a single one of them is that she’s too intellectual. If anything, people seem to question if she has the level of intelligence she claims, due to her slow responses (plus falling for a snake oil scam and other stupid things she’s said).
It’s not like nerds have to like each other, let alone think they do a good job as host. Hell, several nerds were thought to be worse than Bialik.
I think this is apparent given her lack of commentary compared to Trebek and Jennings. The latter two did/do often indicate familiarity with the topic at hand beyond whatever’s written on the cue card–they’re much more quick with a “be more specific,” and they say things like “ooh, sorry, you had the right part of the world, but the wrong country” or “no, Bob Dole was in the Senate at that time too, but in this case we were going for John McCain.” With Mayim, all we get is either a quick “yes” or “no” (when, presumably, the contestant’s response either matches what’s on the card exactly, or is totally different) or a pause (during which, presumably, she’s looking to the judges for a cue) followed by “yes” or “no.”
Yes to all o’that! These are just SOME of the behaviors that demonstrate her lack of the necessary skill set 2b a host for a show like Jeopardy [don’t get me started about her sing-song, vaguely condescending tone of voice!] Nothing personal, she just ain’t right 4the job.
It’s all about the ratings. If her ratings were bad she would be gone.
Reminds me of the Conan/Leno thing . Conan had all these fans online but his ratings were not very good. NBC guy said they need to get offline and watch the show. They did not and he got the boot.
In sports they often say don’t follow a legend like Trebek. Many coaches tried and failed.
That’s the trouble. We all will watch anyway, regardless of host. But I just want Ken! I wonder if Ken has feelings about it, and maybe he would rather split the duties so he can do other things, too.
BTW - I got Stevie Nicks AND Eeyore. What do I win?
These lovely parting gifts: A years’ supply of Rice-A-Roni, the San Francisco treat, a gen-u-ine simulated cloth Jeopardy! tote bag, and the home edition of Trump: The Game.
I see that Ken is now keeping his introductory remarks to a nice concise minimum. He is the perfect host now, even giving Alex-like reproaches* when the contestant is being dumb.